We are very close to celebrating ten years! But ten years of what, you may ask? In 2007, entertainment-focused smartphones hit the market. I must confess that I was late to the game. As a teacher, I would see my students playing on the original iPhone while I was still pulling out my flip phone. Students were navigating the social media world on sites such as My Space and Facebook (which have been outdated for some time now). At the beginning of 2010, I finally gave in and did what I thought I would never do: join Facebook. But in 2011, I took an even bigger step: I bought my first smartphone. I can still hear the sound, “Droid.” I had the world at my fingertips and literally felt like I had stepped into a brave new world. I knew smartphones were a gamechanger when it came to “life as we know it.” However, the point I want to make is that I was and still am “old-school.” I want to stress that students were using smartphones and social media light years before I ever stepped into their world.
What has happened in and to society since smartphones and social media came onto the scene has not always been for the best. People blindly accepted the innovation and progressiveness that media and technology provided without understanding the full ramifications that the use of each medium would bring. This post is not meant to be an all-out condemnation toward any individual or any group of people. For the most part, we are all guilty. We didn’t “count the cost” as Jesus would say or consider the consequences. Still, others must admit they never changed or were late to changing because they just don’t like to change or were scared by it all.
Churches (leaders especially) and parents have often been late to the game. As parents and leaders, we should be out on the cultural forefront of what our students are exposing themselves to and at the same time being exposed to. I wish I could have wrote this post years ago, but I was not out in front as much as I should have been. This is no one’s fault but my own. But now, I want to take the time to dedicate and direct this post to next gen parents and leaders.
What happened in the onset of this digital technological revolution is that parents handed their child (with the permission and approval from church leaders) the world before their child was mature enough to handle this responsibility. On a side note, there are many adults not ready for the utilization of this type of power. I compare the use of smartphones and social media to how the world views the use of alcohol. There should be a time of education about the dangers of texting, posting, chatting, surfing, etc. before use is allowed (perhaps there should be an age-limit too). Many children (not just teens) were given access to the world placed in the palm of their hand only to be controlled with the tip of their finger. In the name of progress, parents and leaders bought in hook, line, and sinker and took the technological bait. Parents installed no content filters on their child’s phone and their children were exposed to words, images, and content that an eight-year-old growing up in 1956 would never have imagined. In other words, children were not ready for what they what they would encounter. And ever since, children have had to constantly battle thoughts and desires that they are not sure how to deal with.
We should not be surprised at these happenings. I John 2:16 says that “everything in the world-the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does-comes not from the Father but from the world.” The world wants the next generation to lose its innocence, to grow up too fast, to become what it already is. Many Christian parents have wised up over time by making sure filters are in place on the smartphones they give their children. But many are like the proverbial ostrich with their heads still stuck in the sand.
Thanks to wiki, google, and a host of other sources, students can learn answers to their innermost questions online. Many do not gain the life-wisdom and experience gleaned by those who came before them. A recent commercial for Beats Wireless (starring Nicki Minaj, DJ Khaled, Karlie Kloss, Travis Scott, Amber Rose, Rebel Wilson, Ben Simmons, and a host of other young stars) captures what can happen when the “all-day companion” takes the place of a parent. Beats Wireless slogan is “no strings attached.” When a student lives out this mantra, there are no biblical guidelines to hold them back. Students feel that anything goes because they define what is right and wrong. They become their own god and thus miss out on the sage wisdom from parents, leaders, and God’s Word that states there are consequences to their actions (2 Tim 3:5; Gal 6:7).
What is the wave of the future? How do church leaders and parents stay ahead of the game? Startup investor Scott Belsky recently made 5 predictions about the future of technology (article found at www.businessinsider.com). Belsky predicts that social media will become passive:
The concept of actively “posting” or “sharing” will be frowned upon and entirely replaced by a passive stream of your life’s experiences, whereabouts, and media consumption. Imagine a 24 hour channel of you that is authentic, aways live (or automatically programmed), and always accessible to your friends (or if you’re born in the age of transparency (post year 2000), accessible to anyone).
I can attest that livestreaming is capturing the imagination of Generation Z. Whether Belsky is correct in the five predictions he makes is another question. All I know is that next gen parents and leaders better pay attention. We cannot afford to lose a generation because we were unwilling to keep up.